Domaine Marcel Deiss Huebuhl Bergheim, Alsace, France

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Given the confitured and liqueur-like character of the corresponding 2008, it is little surprise that the Deiss 2009 Heubuhl is yet more so. Cherry and purple plum preserves mingled with orange liqueur on the nose are further reinforced by the sweetness as well as alcoholic warmth generated on the palate. Happily, sheer glycerin-richness contributes to a soothing finishing impression, while a streak of salinity serves for welcome saliva-inducement in what might otherwise threaten to become an overly-sweet finish. This imposing cuvee of Pinot Gris and Muscat – which doesn’t taste explicitly of either: proof, Deiss would insist, of terroir and cohabitation in action – should remain in good shape for at least 12-15 years. Jean-Michel Deiss’s chance-taking, late-harvesting attitude made for a 2009 collection at times excessive as measured by one or another parameter, but no one can fault its wines for the lack of personality that afflicts so many others from that vintage. Deiss was at pains to assure me that his single-vineyard 2009s would be more expressive and harmonious by autumn of 2011 although I am skeptical that the sort of awkwardness some of these wines exhibited last November will dissipate, and unfortunately, press of time and wine renders it impossible for me to taste many of the most prestigious Alsace wines twice. Deiss’s belief that diverse cepages which grow together – under the influence of the parcel’s terroir and of one another – tend to ripen together, was certainly tested in both 2009 and 2008, but even someone skeptical of that claim – and we skeptics are surely in the majority – must admit that to the extent under- and over-ripe (or botrytis-inflected) aspects coexist in one and the same wine, this need not always manifest itself as disharmony but sometimes instead can generate welcome tension, a tension especially beneficial in the context of noticeable sweetness, and something like seems to have happened with the exciting 2008s at this address. Jean-Michel Deiss remarked – apropos the preponderance of residually sweet wines at his estate (like so many in Alsace) – that with his vineyard and cellar environment, if he really wants a wine to go to dryness, he needs to work with it in barrique, otherwise he would need in most years to employ cultured yeasts, something he eschews – as he puts it – “on moral, not just aesthetic grounds, because I am not about to serve the industry that produces them.” That said, the healthy fruit and happy yeasts of 2009 as well as the high acidity of 2008 conspired to render more of the wines from these collections dry-tasting than is usual chez Deiss. Incidentally, Deiss has begun printing “premier cru” on the labels of those from among his single-vineyard blends that are not from officially grand cru-rated sites. Perhaps he feels emboldened to challenge the authorities not only because a certain amount of contrariness is in his nature, but because he has been deputized to take the lead in organizing growers around deciding what will define and constitute in Alsace the “A.O.P., “I.G.P.,” and other newly EU-mandated wine categories. Mathieu Deiss, incidentally, is taking on an increasing role at his family’s estate, and was almost as eager to discuss the wines and vines on the occasion of my November visit as his notoriously eager and eloquent father. (For further information on Deiss’s philosophy, his sites and their cepages, consult my reports in issues 175 and 188.)Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000

From a blend as simple by estate standards as it is curious - Pinot Gris and Muscat - Deiss's 2008 Heubuhl smells of cherry liqueur, herbal essences, musk, peach preserves, and marmalade of Seville and blood oranges, impressions reinforced by the wine's noticeable residual sugar and glycerin-richness. Here is one of those 2008s that manages remarkably to be both soothing and stimulatingly vivacious. It should be fascinating to follow, not to mention remain seductively luscious for at least the next 12-15 years. Jean-Michel Deiss's chance-taking, late-harvesting attitude made for a 2009 collection at times excessive as measured by one or another parameter, but no one can fault its wines for the lack of personality that afflicts so many others from that vintage. Deiss was at pains to assure me that his single-vineyard 2009s would be more expressive and harmonious by autumn of 2011 although I am skeptical that the sort of awkwardness some of these wines exhibited last November will dissipate, and unfortunately, press of time and wine renders it impossible for me to taste many of the most prestigious Alsace wines twice. Deiss's belief that diverse cepages which grow together -"under the influence of the parcel's terroir and of one another" tend to ripen together, was certainly tested in both 2009 and 2008, but even someone skeptical of that claim "and we skeptics are surely in the majority - must admit that to the extent under- and over-ripe (or botrytis-inflected) aspects coexist in one and the same wine, this need not always manifest itself as disharmony but sometimes instead can generate welcome tension, a tension especially beneficial in the context of noticeable sweetness, and something like seems to have happened with the exciting 2008s at this address. Jean-Michel Deiss remarked -"apropos the preponderance of residually sweet wines at his estate (like so many in Alsace) " that with his vineyard and cellar environment, if he really wants a wine to go to dryness, he needs to work with it in barrique, otherwise he would need in most years to employ cultured yeasts, something he eschews " as he puts it - "on moral, not just aesthetic grounds, because I am not about to serve the industry that produces them."- That said, the healthy fruit and happy yeasts of 2009 as well as the high acidity of 2008 conspired to render more of the wines from these collections dry-tasting than is usual chez Deiss. Incidentally, Deiss has begun printing -premier cru- on the labels of those from among his single-vineyard blends that are not from officially grand cru-rated sites. Perhaps he feels emboldened to challenge the authorities not only because a certain amount of contrariness is in his nature, but because he has been deputized to take the lead in organizing growers around deciding what will define and constitute in Alsace the "A.O.P., I.G.P.," and other newly EU-mandated wine categories. Mathieu Deiss, incidentally, is taking on an increasing role at his family's estate, and was almost as eager to discuss the wines and vines on the occasion of my November visit as his notoriously eager and eloquent father. (For further information on Deiss's philosophy, his sites and their cepages, consult my reports in issues 175 and 188.)Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000

From a clay-rich, graphite-infused, site between Bergheim and Ribeauville dedicated to vines of the Pinot family, Deiss’s 2007 Heubuhl leads with aromas of sage, mint, and catnip as if it were Muscat (and perhaps there is some inter-planted here), but on the palate emerge quince preserves and orange marmalade; liquid lily and gardenia perfume; and pure botrytis honey, all reinforced by a strong sense of sweetness, with the herbs reprising in liqueur like form in the long, soothing yet stimulating finish. I imagine this being a 12-15 year keeper, but you’ll have to wait the better part of that long if you want the sweetness to back off even a bit from a wine that is essentially vendange tardive. Jean-Michel Deiss has been officially tasked with assisting his fellow Alsace growers in the drafting of new regional regulations and labeling conventions, in keeping with both France’s proposed move to a higher-order French appellation “d’Origine Protegee” and with the potential regional autonomy provided for (if inchoately) by recent EU legislation. As readers can imagine, Deiss’s vision involves a drastically diminished scope and roll for varietal bottling, analogous to his conception of Alsace crus as being best expressed by a blending of multiple cepages. (For more on the evolution of Deiss’s approach, consult my report in issue 175). Two things are indubitable: Alsace could use fresh approaches to labeling and marketing; and any Deiss proposal will have been thought-through all the way down to its historical and metaphysical levels. Deiss’s own line and labeling have been further simplified: beginning with 2006 his lower tier of wines is being bottled without village designations, leaving him more flexibility in blending. Although Deiss did not bottle a full compliment of his crus from the rot-challenged 2006 vintage, he said he was loath to pull back by settling his musts more aggressively of bottling earlier, “because the lees are the megaphone for the terroir.” Fair enough in principle, but the results were to say the least decidedly mixed, whereas Deiss’s 2007s represent a resounding success. (Deiss did not show me his lower-tier 2006s and I did not have chance to ferret any of them out from the marketplace.)Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000